With 2050 just a few decades away, major issues await the world. Science and technology need to start focusing on solutions to make the future better than the terrifying reality approaching.

The number of people living in cities will likely triple.

In 1950, just under 750 million people lived in urban areas. Today, that figure has ballooned to more than 4 billion — more than half the world’s entire population — and the upward trend is set to continue. By mid-century, about 6.3 billion people will live in cities.

According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution is estimated to have caused 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012. This will only increase as urban populations rise and pollution worsens.

The air could be thick with pollution, worsening lung conditions and respiratory diseases.

One of those toxins is ground-level ozone, a chemical that irritates the delicate tissue lining the lungs and causes coughing, feelings of burning, wheezing, and shortness of breath when inhaled. Ozone often worsens respiratory conditions like asthma and emphysema.

More than half of the world’s population may not have adequate access to water.

Today, 1.1 billion people lack access to water. And 2.5 billion people (36% of the world’s population) live in regions of the world experiencing water stress. Twenty percent of the world’s GDP is produced in these areas as well.

Already, water scarcity hounds 2.7 billion people — nearly 40% of the world’s population — for at least one month every year, either because they don’t have access to clean water or because they can’t afford it, Water Footprint Network says. And 1 billion people, about one-sixth of the world’s population, face daily shortages, according to the foundation.

By 2050, however, this number will likely increase. Nearly 2 billion people will live in countries, mostly in the Middle East and North Africa, with absolute water scarcity, according to the International Water Management Institute. And by 2050, MIT researchers say that 5 billion of the world’s projected 9.7 billion people could live in water-stressed areas.

Aside from a lack of drinking water, populations in these areas might not have the means to irrigate their fields (threatening food supply) or for other domestic, industrial, and environmental purposes.

Currently, one-third of the world’s rivers — groundwater for about 3 billion people — are going or gone, according to the World Preservation Foundation. With population growth and global warming, the situation will only worsen. The drying of lakes and rivers releases greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, into the air, potentially exacerbating climate change.

The types of fish we eat could become extinct.

If the world continues fishing at its current rate, all fish stocks could become extinct by 2050, according to a 2010 report from the environmental branch of the UN. To combat the problem, many organizations, including the UN and European Commission, have tried to impose catch limits on certain species.

And then there’s the money. Between 10% and 12% of people around the world rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood, contributing to about $129 billion in global exports, about half of which comes from developing countries. All in all, the oceans produce around $3 trillion worth of goods every year.

If we expect to stop the collapse, however, more than 20 million people employed in these industries need to leave and train for other work over the next 40 years.

Millions could be without food.

Every decade, a warmer planet will decrease the amount of food we’re able to produce around the globe by 2%. In case that doesn’t sound like a lot, it means that in the next 10 years, we’ll lose 4,440,000 metric tons of food. One tonne weighs a little over 2,200 pounds.

Superbugs could kill 10 million people each year.

The problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been exacerbated by the fact that doctors and pharmacists across the globe give them out freely and farmers worldwide use them liberally on their crops and add them to animal feed, even when animals aren’t sick.

Because of this liberal use, antibiotics have become ever present; almost anywhere, they can be found floating in the water and buried in the soil. Unless the demand for antibiotics drops or the regulations on using them are tightened, we are set to live in a world where millions of people die from infections that can no longer be treated

Diseases will spread with ease.

REUTERS/Adam DeanWorried about the growing number of malaria cases, people display a sign saying ‘Help Us’ in a road near Kundangon, Myanmar.

A gradually warming climate will expand the range of pests carrying deadly disease. People who are affected will have little immunity from the disease.

The result? Diseases that are deadlier than ever.

— Malaria: By 2030, an additional 60,000 people will die of malaria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the past few years, mosquitoes carrying the disease (which killed 630,000 people last year) have already begun creeping up mountains to recently warmed, higher-altitude elevations, where they spread malaria to areas that had never been exposed to the disease.

— Dengue and yellow fever: Mosquitoes, which thrive in warmer climates, also carry diseases like dengue and yellow fever, which collectively kill more than 50,000 people each year. As temperatures rise, more and more areas around the globe will become increasingly hospitable to the pests. By 2050, 4.6 billion people will be at risk of dengue, according to WHO.

Hurricanes could become more frequent and more severe.

Getty Images/Spencer Platt

As bad as Hurricane Sandy was, it could be just a hint of the destruction to come. While our grandparents most likely lived through one storm of Sandy’s scale, our grandchildren can expect to see at least 20 during their lifetime.

While climate change is best known for lifting sea levels and raising temperatures, it will also make storms far more intense. As the Earth heats up, more water vapor — the fuel for storms — will enter the atmosphere.

A 2008 report from the OECD found that Calcutta will likely be the hardest-hit city in the world, with 14 million people and $2 trillion in assets exposed by 2070. New York City made the list, too, with 2.9 million people and $2.1 trillion in assets laid bare to storm surges.

If you want convenience, you’ll have to forsake privacy.

While private citizens have grown increasingly concerned about the use of drones and other technologies, data lies at the heart of the digital revolution. Continued growth will almost certainly require a greater level of transparency between people and devices — and that means less privacy.

“People who are thinking that you can control your own identity aren’t thinking about the problem right,” futurist John Smart told Business Insider.

Take the idea of digital twins, computer-based versions of our personalities that can make decisions and complete tasks in our stead. To use them effectively, privacy will have to take a back seat.

The Pew Research Internet Project surveyed 2,511 experts and internet builders last year. We broke out a few notable predictions:

“Big data equals big business. Those special interests will continue to block any effective public policy work to ensure security, liberty, and privacy online.” —executive at an internet top-level domain-name operator

“We have never had ubiquitous surveillance before, much less a form of ubiquitous surveillance that emerges primarily from voluntary (if market-obscured) choices. Predicting how it shakes out is just fantasy.” —John Wilbanks, chief commons officer for Sage Bionetworks

“Citizens will divide between those who prefer convenience and those who prefer privacy.” —Niels Ole Finnemann, director of Netlab

On the legal side, police can already create fake social-media accounts to catch criminals. Privacy experts are also voicing concerns about body cameras and other tools.

Cyberattacks could increase, causing tangible damage to the world.

Kevork Djansezian/ReutersA security guard stands at the entrance of United Artists theater during the premiere of the film “The Interview” in Los Angeles, December 11, 2014.

The events surrounding the 2014 release of Sony’s movie “The Interview” made it undeniably clear that cyberattackers mean business. Even minor breaches, like that of the Lizard Squad against PlayStation on Christmas Day, have increased in frequency and strength.

By 2025, experts believe that “nations, rogue groups, and malicious individuals” will step up their hacking games, according to a report from the Pew Research Center and Elon University. Of the 1,642 experts surveyed, 61% predicted a major attack causing significant loss of life or property and costing tens of billions of dollars.

Today, countries or militaries that don’t typically attack in two dimensions have started to venture into hacking territory. For example, the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS or ISIL) recently launched its “cybercalliphate,” and Russia is rumored to support a state-sponsored hacker group.

These hacks could affect banks, businesses, and private data, but also do tangible damage to a world increasingly reliant on technology. An attack on a German steel mill in 2014 caused significant damage to its furnaces. The year before, the Stuxnet virus destroyed one-fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges

Oil could become prohibitively expensive.

With more people come more houses and more cars and therefore a greater demand on energy resources. According to a report from HSBC, if global energy use continues at its current rate, the world in 2050 will have:

— A 110% increase in oil demand, to more than 190 million barrels a day

— A doubling of total energy demand

— A doubling of carbon in the atmosphere, to more than 3.5 times the amount recommended to keep temperatures at a safe level

While the US shale boom diminished fear of “peak oil” — the point at which the world runs out of oil — extracting the oil and natural gas the world still has could become even more expensive. OPEC has already predicted oil prices could explode to $200 a barrel.

Pursuing other energy sources requires careful consideration, though. Coal, for example, is one of the world’s dirtiest energy sources. At the current rate of use, we have only another 176 years’ worth of with it, according to HSBC. Therefore, non-fossil fuels have to play a greater role.

The first sentence told me all I needed to know about this article, brought to you by the capitalist pimp, Business Insider. More BAU with a few guesses and scare tactics thrown in for good measure. The last sentence tells me they are not serious or else they are stupid …UNLESS… there are only a few million humans left on the planet. Then 80% renewables, as in muscle power, may be real.

Maybe I’ll read the whole article over the holiday weekend, if I get bored.

Plantagenet on Tue, 31st Mar 2015 7:09 pm

The graph of oil supply versus time is wrong. It shows oil peaking before 2010, but here we are in 2015 in a worldwide oil glut with oil production higher then every before.

If you’re going to make scary predictions about the future, be sure to at least get your facts straight about the situation right now.

tk on Tue, 31st Mar 2015 7:50 pm

“For example, the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS or ISIL) recently launched its “cybercalliphate,” and Russia is rumored to support a state-sponsored hacker group.”

“At this rate, between a third and nearly half of the rain forest will vanish by 2050, according to a report from the International Journal of Climatology.”

Well, if we push it that far we won’t have 50-70% left. The rain forest “system” will have been mortally wounded and we’ll be left with savannah, which doesn’t have quite the same moisture transport capability:(

dave thompson on Tue, 31st Mar 2015 7:59 pm

I quit eating sea food and all fresh water fish some time back for the simple reason that 2 out of 3 samples will test positive for mercury content.

welch on Tue, 31st Mar 2015 8:40 pm

So on a lighter note….

penury on Tue, 31st Mar 2015 10:04 pm

Another wonderful dream that we will have another 50 years. I don’t think I would go out more than ten.

Perk Earl on Wed, 1st Apr 2015 12:54 am

QE in 2050; 60 trillions dollars (in 2005 dollars) for top .0000001 of population

27 mbd of oil, with 90% from tar sands, Orinoco and fracking

Top 22 own as much as bottom 7 billion

7% of species remain of those alive in 2010

542 CO2 ppm

92% of worldwide retail by Amazon prime

97% of all vehicles driverless

10.2 billion people

Amazon rainforest is 92% savanna

88% of population live in mega cities

Oceans look like abandoned fish tanks

1.2% drink clean water

Food is grown in algae tanks & converted to green wafers

1.7% of the population eats food other than green wafers

minimum wage 85 cents (in 2005 dollars) an hour and 1 dozen wafers

number of robots: 8.3 billion, 4.4 billion of which are growing algae for wafers.

Drones: 227.3 billion, most of which are insect sized for surveillance and riot assist.

Around my parts, the fish stocks are very healthy. Florida passed a Constitutional net ban amendment in 1995 and I have personally witnessed the complete rebound of all fish stocks other than grouper (which was horribly mismanaged for the past 20 years). Back in 1995, Spanish mackerel didn’t show up here until the water was 74 degrees or more and they were not very plentiful. Now they’re here in massive numbers at 68 degrees. Mullet are plentiful year-round and spotted seatrout and bluefish are also very plentiful. None of those fish have lived long enough by the time we catch them to have significant mercury in them. Those are pretty much the staple of my diet. When I catch excess, I pressure-can them and eat the meat like canned tuna.